Search and classification systems are measured by their precision (the ability to find only relevant materials) and their recall (their ability to find all relevant documents). However, the variability of language, including synonymy (different words describe the same idea) and polysemy (words having two or more meaning) limit the accuracy of current search engines. The result is that researchers may not find all useful material or may have to review volumes of search results in order to find useful material. Moreover, current search engines are limited in their capacity to accurately find a particular section from a certain type of document.
In addition to finding and classifying materials, a number of industries and service sectors rely upon standard documents and forms to ensure quality and accuracy of their documents. A number of industries have manually constructed and maintained professional document standards and templates. For example, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) maintain standard building and planning specifications. In the legal field, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) provides standard master documents for complex financing. Templates also exist for project management, software development, and many other professional practices. Currently, in order to generate a standard template, experts must read and review numerous documents, manually create the outline and identify standard text associated with each section and alternative examples of each. Due to the breadth, complexity and expense of the process, standard documents are not broadly available for all professional documents.